Showcase Olympus Pen 100mm f3.5

[gscara]

Couldn't find an existing thread for this lens. This lens is tiny and fits well in my coat pocket. Easy to focus and quite sharp. Lack of contrast easily fixed in post processing.

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Overall, a joy to use and highly recommended

 

[nsd20463]

I like the Pen FT 100mm f/3.5 too. It's size and weight on a GF1 are great. But it took me several weeks of on and off messing with it to get results I liked. Initially everything was too flarey and too soft.
I also discovered that our toilet paper rolls make a perfect press-fit hood on this lens as-is, with no vignetting.

Here are some pre and post processing photos I'm happy with with this lens, showing how much better it is with a little rework in (for me) digikam.

Post processed:

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As it came from the camera:

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Post processed:

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As it came from the camera:

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[EdH]

Just got this lens an hour ago. Think I'm going to like it.

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PA113517 by Ed Herridge, on Flickr

 

[EdH]

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[MarylandUSA]

My E. Zuiko Auto-T 100/3.5 is the later, FT version--that is, the version whose aperture ring is marked conventionally (f/3.5 through f/16) and linearly (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). The serial number is 210147, so my specimen was made too early to benefit from the improved coating that reportedly was introduced after, I think, 24xxxx.

Here are three cellphone shots of the half-frame 100/3.5 shown alongside the full-frame Konica Hexanon 100/2.8:

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And now, my test shots from the E. Zuiko Auto-T 100/3.5. All images were shot on my Panasonic Lumix G3 body. The images are JPEGs, straight out of the camera.

f/4, 1/320th second, ISO 250, handheld, focused on the lower-left corner of the right-hand window:

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shot on a sunny day, hooded. f/8, ISO 400:

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f/4, 1/250th second, ISO 250, handheld, focused on the near edge of the brown circle surrounding the tree:

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shot on a sunnier day:
f/8, ISO 400, handheld. Check out the detail in the corners. f/8 really improves depth of field; the tree branches almost come alive, I used a threaded hood, either 3-inch or 1.6-inch:

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f/4, 1/400th second, ISO 250, handheld, focused on the street sign:

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f/8, ISO 400, handheld, shot on a sunnier day:

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tripod, f/3.5, 1/2000th, ISO 160:

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tripod, f/4, 1/2000th, ISO 160:

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tripod, f/5.6, 1/1300th, ISO 160:

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tripod, f/8, 1/500th, ISO 160:

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[gnarlydog australia]

Thanks to this Forum, and other samples I have seen on Flickr, I decided to get yet another 100mm manual focus lens.
I was after a compact size lens that would have decent sharpness (although I am not obsessed by that) requiring a short adapter (not a fan of M42 or other SLR lenses where the adapter is so large).
Initial test have revealed that the lens is very sharp from wide open and I can not see getting sharper when stopped down, just deeper DOF.
Here is a quick casual portrait that to my surprise turned out incredibly sharp despite 1/50 sec hand-held (thanks to the brilliant Olympus IBIS).

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Melt APR18 by gnarlydog, on Flickr

And here a slightly different portrait at minimum focus distance, again wide open at f3.5

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crop of above

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[gnarlydog australia]

stopped down a bit (visible pentagon shaped aperture in the flare)
Back light is the harshest test one can subject a lens to: this one handles it OK unless the light falls directly onto the front element (a deep hood is a must)

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old horse by gnarlydog, on Flickr

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ridge horses by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[gnarlydog australia]

Just a tiny bit of flare despite being pointed directly into the sun

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outback by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[gnarlydog australia]

At f4 and the artifact of the 5-blade aperture are not visible yet in the bokeh

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new kid by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[gnarlydog australia]

Wild parakeets (Rainbow Lorikeet) enjoying the Xmas free feed.
Not at the zoo or enclosure: these birds are free to fly like nature intended.

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Xmas breakfast by gnarlydog, on Flickr

 

[MarylandUSA]

I've owned this lens for about four years. The only reason I never use it is that my Sigma 60/2.8 has resolution to spare. I've posted some test shots in this thread. I slightly prefer the rendering and corner sharpness of the Hexanon 100/2.8. But the Olympus 100/3.5 is much narrower (43mm filter size vs. 55).

 

[gnarlydog australia]

A few random ones of different subjects

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magenta & cyan by gnarlydog, on Flickr

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Winter grass by gnarlydog, on Flickr

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rural dwelling by gnarlydog, on Flickr